U.R. Ananthamurthy’s Samskara draws a picture of a decaying Brahmin agrahara in the village of Durvasapura in
Karnataka. The agrahara is famed after its great ascetic Praneshacharya, who is a much sought after scholar. The conflict in
the novel arises when Praneshacharya is unable to find a solution to the samskara ofNaranappa, a member of the agrahara.
Since Naranappa had no children, a member of the agrahara had to do the last rites. But everyone was hesitant since
Naranappa had not lived the life of a Brahmin. The paper traces the different meanings of the word ‘samskara’ through the
life of Praneshacharya. The title is a pointer to the different phases of transformation that Praneshacharya undergoes
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